These forums are provided to give free assistance to anyone interested in obtaining an Australian visa – whether as a visitor or student, to work temporarily, set up business or take up permanent residence.

These forums are intended to provide general information on migration issues and do not constitute legal advice or migration advice and no responsibility is accepted by Migration Help for the accuracy of material given in the forums. Users seeking advice on Australian migration law should seek advice from an Australian registered migration agent. Messages posted are the responsibility of the author of that message.

Remember your audience — present and future!
Be aware that a large audience might see your post, and your words may come back to haunt you. That audience might potentially include past, present and future employers; colleagues; friends; family; etc. And unlike the spoken word, your written posts will exist for a long time.
Take Google's Search Engine. Once information is posted on-line and picked up by the search engine , although you may subsequently delete material, it is not universally deleted but remains within Google's caching system where it can be retrieved.

Could someone answer a question? Can a person with kidney disease
(chronic glomerulonephritis) get an independant visa (subclass 175)?
He has rateher good medical examinations and do not need any medical treatment.

It comes down to whether the condition will cost the Australian Government for the person's treatment. I don't know what the condition is (although it sounds like some sort of inflamatory condition?), nor do I know if it does require treatment, or if it will require treatment in the near future. And no one really knows what the outcome would be until there is a decision made by the medical office in Australia. If it doesn't cost money to treat now, and if it most likely won't, then you could say he had a good chance. Sorry but no one can say "yes, he can get a visa". Even with perfect health, we could not say that.

Jeff is correct – it will depend on whether the condition will impose a significant cost to the Australian taxpayer or whether it will lead to an Australian being deprived of scare resources.

Have a read of this post for further information on the health requirement. In particular please note what constitutes a ‘significant cost’ and ‘resource use impact’.

My understanding of chronic glomerulonephritis is that it is a kidney disorder which can lead to end-chronic kidney failure requiring dialysis or kidney transplantation. But I also understand that treatment varies depending on the cause of the disorder, and the type and severity of symptoms, and that some types of glomerulonephritis may get better on their own.

Without knowing any more about his condition I would counsel you that it is likely to be an uphill battle. Having said that, if he is determined to apply for the visa, he should seriously consider engaging a migration agent who has experience in handling serious health conditions of this nature. This will ensure he gets the best advice and assistance and will optimise his chances if the agent feels there is any likelihood of success.

To give you some idea of the likely costs involved in Australia here is an extract from an MRT decision made in 2003 for an applicant with chronic glomerulonephritis. The Medical Officer of the Commonweatlh (MOC) found that:

“if the visa applicant were to be granted the visa he would require significant care or treatment (or both) and it would result in the visa applicant becoming a significant charge on public funds. The MOC's decision was due to the visa applicant having evidence of chronic glomerulonephritis which has resulted in significant renal damage, this was discovered during the routine immigration health check.

The MOC stated that while the visa applicant will not require intensive therapy or dialysis in the near future he is likely to progress to end stage renal failure and renal dialysis in 10-15 years. The cost for treatment is likely to be $1000-$2000 per annum for the next 5-10 years, this will increase to $30 000 per annum after 10-15 years. If the visa applicant requires renal transplantation this will cost approximately $50 000 and approximately $10 000 per annum thereafter.

The likely costs to the Australian community in the area of health and community services would be as follows: